Teacher Role – Delivering; conveying; facilitating; mediating – transferred and shared with others
Human learning is conceived of as an acquisition of something
‘the act of gaining knowledge’
Concept Development - basic units of knowledge that can be accumulated and gradually refined to form ever richer cognitive structures
Activity of accumulating material goods
‘knowledge acquisition’ or ‘concept development’ – the human mind being a container that can be filled with materials and the learner becomes the owner of the these materials
Idea of learning as gaining possession over some commodity
Start with passive reception of knowledge – then actively constructed by the learner – then internalised by the learner
‘development of concepts’ and ‘acquisition of knowledge’
Inward movement of knowledge
Participation Metaphors (PM)
Key Words – Practice; communication; Participation
Action – Contextuality; Situatedness; cultural embeddedness and social mediation
Teacher Role – The Preservers of the continuity of the community
Reflection and communication – learning in the community
An Apprentice in thinking (Rogoff, 1990)
Less emphasis on ‘concept’ and ‘knowledge’ and shifted to ‘knowing’ which indicated action
‘Having’ gives way to ‘doing’
Becoming a member of a certain community and communicate and act to its’ particular norms
Learners are newcomers and potential reformers of the practice – from a lone entrepreneur the learner becomes an integral part of a team
Taking part and being a part of and becoming part of a greater whole
Evolving bonds between the individual and others
The Metaphorical Mappings
Acquisition Metaphor AM
Participation Metaphor (PM)
Individual Enrichment
Goal of Learning
Community Building
Acquisition of something
Learning
Becoming a participant
Recipient (consumer), contructor (re)
Student
Peripheral Participant, apprentice
Provider, facilitator, mediator
Teacher
Expert Participant and preserver of practice
Property, possession, commodity
Knowledge, Concept
Aspects of practice, discourse, activity
Having, possessing
Knowing
Belonging, participating, communicating
Combination of AM and PM
The advantages of each of the two metaphors makes it difficult to give up either of them – each has something to offer
An adequate combination of acquisition and participation metaphors would bring to the fore the advantages of each of them, while keeping their respective drawbacks at bay
REVIEW - On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing One – Anna Sfard
Acquisition Metaphors (AM)
Key Words - Knowledge; concept; conception; idea; notion; misconception; meaning; sense; schema; fact; representation; material; contents
Action - Reception; acquisition; transmission; attainment; development; accumulation; grasp
Teacher Role – Delivering; conveying; facilitating; mediating – transferred and shared with others
Participation Metaphors (PM)
Key Words – Practice; communication; Participation
Action – Contextuality; Situatedness; cultural embeddedness and social mediation
Teacher Role – The Preservers of the continuity of the community
The Metaphorical Mappings
Acquisition Metaphor AM
Participation Metaphor (PM)
Individual Enrichment
Goal of Learning
Community Building
Acquisition of something
Learning
Becoming a participant
Recipient (consumer), contructor (re)
Student
Peripheral Participant, apprentice
Provider, facilitator, mediator
Teacher
Expert Participant and preserver of practice
Property, possession, commodity
Knowledge, Concept
Aspects of practice, discourse, activity
Having, possessing
Knowing
Belonging, participating, communicating
Combination of AM and PM
Reference
Anna Sfard. (1998). On two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing just one. Available: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1280137/mod_resource/content/1/H800_Week3b_OnTwoMetaphorsforLearning_Sfard.pdf. Last accessed 24th February 2015.